All At Once
by Enchanted Sloth
Summary: [Pricefield] It had been exactly a day since Max Caulfield and Chloe Price discovered Rachel Amber by the lighthouse. It had also been exactly a day since Max had gotten a single text from Chloe.
1. Chapter 1

Hi there!  
This is going to be a multichaptered story about Max, and how she handles Rachel's reappearance. This is a Pricefield fic, and contains some Kate. I kinda have a headcanon that Kate also ships Pricefield? I don't know why, but I just feel like she would.  
In this fiction, Kate did not jump off of the cliff and is in the hospital.  
Rachel will also be here in dialogue, and as we don't know much about how she was personality wise, I'm going to do my best to write her the way I would assume for her to be written.

I hope you enjoy!

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All At Once

It had been exactly a day since Max Caulfield and Chloe Price discovered Rachel Amber by the lighthouse. It had been exactly a day since Max had gotten a text from Chloe.

Instead of feeling relieved that there was going to be no tornado to wipe them all away, Max spent that entire day chewing at her fingernails and cursing herself for ever leaving Chloe alone for five whole years. In that five years, Chloe was able to become best friends with Rachel - and of course that friendship meant a _hella_ lot more than her friendship with Max.

There was a current investigation going on with some members of the staff at Blackwell, but some classes were still in session. The assistant principal, one of the faculty members that actually managed to do her job pretty well, stepped in for Principal Wells, who was one of the members in question. Jefferson, of course, was suspended from all school duties, as it was in his own blackroom that Rachel was found. It had taken a large toll on Max to realize that her idol had something to do with the abduction, but something inside of her felt like she had expected it to happen all along.

Max slowly walks around her dorm room, hands deep in the pockets of her gray hoodie, lost in thought.

' _The people at this school are batshit crazy.'_

Her phone buzzes erratically, but she ignores it, figuring it would best to leave whoever it was to their own devices. Chances are, it was Warren with another text about a movie date that she was on the edge of cancelling, or maybe Kate, with an update on her condition. It probably wasn't Chloe, she thinks to herself, remembering how happy her best friend had been to see _her_ best friend.

Max flings herself onto her bed, and rubs at her eyes, enjoying the soft sting that it created. It had been hard to control her time travel powers since they had found Rachel, but she knew that they were still there. They were just waiting for her to need them again, but hopefully, she would never be put in a situation where she _had_ to use them again.

' _I probably can't use them because the universe doesn't want me to rewind and not suggest looking in that blackroom...'_

It wasn't as if she didn't like Rachel - in fact, she knew well enough that Chloe might not be around if it weren't for the other girl, and the thought of allowing her to stay cooped up in some wako teacher's blackroom without a way out was enough to make the guilt rise up Max's throat. There was no denying that Max felt abandoned, but she was the one who abandoned Chloe in the first place - maybe she deserved it?

Max looks over at her withered plant, suddenly feeling the loss of Lisa immensely. Perhaps she had just been a plant, but she was dependent completely on Max for water. It was a job that Max had failed.

Ultimately, she had chosen Chloe over the small plant.

' _If I had watered it more often… would Chloe have chosen me instead?'_

Max shakes her head, realizing that she was just thinking out of her ass. Lisa was just a plant, one that definitely could be replaced.

In fact, Lisa had nothing to do with Chloe, or the tough spot that Max was finding herself in. She was simply a green plant that Max had gotten as a gift from her eco-friendly mother.

There was a sudden banging at Max's door, causing her to jump from her position on the bed. Max reaches for her phone, finally getting a chance to glance at the dozens of notifications that she had initially ignored.

' _Damn… was I really out of it for that long?'_

"Max Caulfield, open this door before I smash it in!"

Chloe.

Max is up in a second, unlocking the door and allowing Chloe inside. The taller girl is leaning against the frame, her face filled with annoyance, and just a bit of rage. However, when she finally get her eyes locked onto Max's, there was a look of relief that seemed to wash over her. In an instant, she had her arms around Max, asking over and over if she was okay.

She lets go, talking a mile a minute, and Max closes the door. She can see Chloe's lips as they move, but the words just won't quite reach her freckled ears. This is how she had spent her last twenty four hours. Max did not eat, she did not sleep, and it was also quite hard for her to hear anything that went on around her.

Chloe's lips stopped moving, coming to a slow halt as she furrowed her brows with concern.. Max walks back to the edge of the bed, sitting down and scooting against the far wall. She can feel some of her polaroids falling to the ground with the collision, but she does nothing to stop them. They no longer felt important. Instead, she pulls her knees up to her chest and hides her head, not even giving Chloe a second glance.

Chloe wanted Rachel, and Max was just trying to accept that. Heartbreak wasn't the easiest to get over, and there didn't seem to be a remedy to speed up the inflictions that it was causing.

She feels a soft push in the bed as Chloe sits down beside of her, scooting back towards the shorter girl. Chloe's arms wrap themselves around Max's shoulders and, suddenly, she is falling backwards onto the bed. There is a warmth beneath her, one that she has missed more than anything in the world.

"Max, I'm here now."

Those were the first words that she had heard in what felt like an eternity. They flowed into her ears like warmed maple syrup, causing her belly to flutter. It was the sudden thought of Rachel that poisoned the words completely. They crept into the dark place that her mind was transforming into, and she felt herself slipping back into the cracks of uncertainty.

Finally, Max did what she had been considering to do for the past twenty four hours:

She ran.


	2. Chapter 2

There will probably be one more chapter to this fanfic, and even though I literally just uploaded the other one... I couldn't stop writing! It's like I just want to get this story out onto paper before I lose it.  
Thanks for reading!

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All At Once  
Chapter 2

Kate Marsh's hospital room had but two lonely balloons, in the beginning. As the hours grew, so did her collection of items. They were probably from students who wanted to make up for their harassment of her, and as she was taught, she forgave them all.

However, Kate Marsh was no idiot.

She forgave them, but in no way, shape, or form had any interest in returning to Blackwell Academy.

Kate flicked through the TV, surfing the few channels that the lone hospital provided. The sun was blaring through the blinds of her large hospital window when she saw Rachel Amber's face appear on the screen. Stunned, she froze, her eyes going wide as she watched Jefferson and Nathan being taken away by police from Blackwell's tall front doors.

' _Two heroic teens by the name of Max Caulfield and Chloe Price were the noble saviors of this fortunate abductee victim. There are several leads right now, but none that we have any information on at the time. More at six_.'

Kate leaned back in her bed, feeling peace settle all around her. She had been on guard the entire stay at the hospital so far, not allowing herself to trust in the doctors or the nurses who would come and go. She had refused to open her mouth about Nathan or all of the things that he had done to her -but, now, she felt a surge of strength run throughout her veins.

Max had pulled through all along and had finally found the most perfect evidence.

Kate stared at the gift baskets and balloons that people had brought her and finally decided that it was almost time to start rifling through them. Maybe there was some nice chocolate in there for her to sink her teeth into -

Her thoughts were disrupted as the door leading into her room opened, and a familiar figure hesitated at the door frame. Max stood, face filled with uncertainty, her body only half inside of the room.

"Max!" Kate smiled, her eyes lighting up at the one that she had managed to call a 'friend'.

"H-hey, Kate." Max gives a weak smile, bouncing on her feet slightly. "Would it be okay if I talked to you for a bit? Just to get my mind off of some things...o-or, something like that."

"Sure, that's fine by me. It's rare that I get a visitor who is coming to see me just to see _me_." Kate admitted, deciding not to go into detail about all of the apologies she had received in only two or three days time. To be honest, she had lost track of all days completely. It felt as if time itself was reweaving its fabric.

"Thanks, Kate." Max speaks softly, closing the door behind her gently. It clicks shut, automatically locking behind her. "The doctors had to let me in. The automatic locking door was a nice touch."

"They thought I might need it encase someone tried to...hurt me." Kate spoke slowly, trying to word it correctly. "But, with Rachel found, maybe that won't be such a problem!" She smiles, pointing to the TV. A small little bar scrolled across the bottom of the screen, both Max and Chloe's names in large, bold letters. "You guys are super heroes."

Max refuses to look up, instead choosing to ignore the broadcast that they were showing of the rescue.

' _I just can't escape it...'_

The freckled girl sits down in the hard, plastic chair that the hospital provided and leaned back, letting out a long sigh. Kate frowns, reaching over to the built in remote to shut off the TV. There's a dull quiet in the room for a moment, one that Kate can't help but shudder at the sound of.

"Max...what's wrong?"

Kate leans over, placing her hand on Max's shoulder. Max looks over at her friend, and Kate is surprised to see the look of sheer emptiness on her face. The bags beneath her eyes had worsened, and Kate knew that feeling very well.

"Has something happened? Tell me, Max. Let me know what's wrong." She pleads, furrowing her brows at the sight of her broken friend.

Max lets out a long sigh and jerks forward, allowing her head to fall into her hands.

"Kate, life is so strange sometimes. Sometimes, things happen and we don't react the way that we should. I shouldn't regret what I've done, but I do, I regret it so badly."

"Rescuing Rachel?" Kate inquires, trying to get a foot into the conversation.

"Yeah," Max nods. "Che...Chloe and I, we both rescued Rachel. It was a crazy coincidence that we were looking in the right place at the right time, but all of the signs were pointing to it, and there she was. Some obscure little 'shed' of a blackroom right beside of the lighthouse. Totally in plain sight, such an easy place to search. Yet, no one would have even known."

Kate makes a small noise, signalling that she had heard Max. Her hand squeezed the tense shoulder softly, just to make sure that Max knew she was right there.

"Chloe and I were best friends for a really long time, but I had to move. It was the worst possible time to just up and leave, but my parents were making me. It wasn't my choice. Yet, it _was_ my choice when I neglected to contact her for five years straight…"

"Why didn't you contact her?" Kate asks, removing her hand and sitting up a little in the bed. Max looked over at her when the contact was lost, but didn't comment on it.

"I just...I felt bad. I didn't know how. I was too busy. There were just so many reasons, and not any of them are the right ones."

"Just going on a hunch, but… I remember Chloe and Rachel hanging out together a lot in the hallways. Rachel was always nice to me, but we weren't close in the slightest. Did Chloe latch onto Rachel in response to losing you?"

"Basically. But, Rachel is back now, and… I don't really matter."

The words flow out of Max's mouth roughly, almost as if they're a bitter pill that she just can't force herself to swallow.

' _They probably feel like paper cuts...'_ Kate thought, a look of worry growing across her face. She knew paper cuts, and she also knew what they led up to.

"Max, I saw how close you and Chloe were, before...everything happened." Kate drops her head, looking down at her hands. "I saw how much you meant to her. Don't get me wrong - Rachel probably means a lot too. But, how do you know that you don't mean just as much? Maybe even more."

"There's no way that girl thinks I'm more special than Rachel. That is going above and beyond friendship -"

"I saw the way she stared at you, Max. And the way you stared back." Kate looks Max in the eyes, frowning slightly. "Don't ever think that you mean nothing to her, because I promise, you probably mean more than you could imagine."

Max opened her mouth to retort, but she saw the look in Kate's eyes, and forced herself to stop.

"Look, Max, not everyone can have a friend as good as you. If she gives you up, she'd be an idiot, and I'm assuming that she's really much smarter than she lets on."

"She really is…"

"After finding her friend alive, her feelings were probably all over the place - excitement, happiness, and, most of all, thankfulness. For you. You saved Rachel's life. Not to mention…" Kate smiles, tilting her head to the side. "You love her. Not all of us can have Max's heart - and I think she'll come to realize that."

Max can't help but crack a smile, shaking her head softly.

"Kate, how much do you notice?"

"A lot more than people give me credit for. I tend to notice the good people more than I notice the bad. And you two were my favorite to watch, even as I was unraveling."

"Kate...thank you."

"No, thank _you_. Amidst all of the ugliness that was happening in the world, I got to watch the beginnings of a love story. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have that one, tiny sliver of hope."

Max's eyes widened, and while she wasn't completely over the pain that she was feeling, she felt much better than she had hours before.

After she ran from Chloe, who had chased after her for what felt like an eternity, Max had no idea where to go. She left her phone back in her dorm, along with the other half of her heart. For hours, she walked with no direction, barely registering all of the classes that were still in session that she happened to be missing.

The idea to go to the hospital felt silly at first, as the hospital seemed so far away. Yet, by the time Max was contemplating it, she had realized that she was right at the doorstep of the large, white building. Throughout the entire walk, she had noticed several different butterflies trailing all around her, but she had decided that she didn't want to investigate it.

"I promise I'll talk to Chloe about it, Kate. For you."

"No, do it for you. It would be silly to do it for me, Max." Kate snorts, giving her friend a slight punch in the shoulder. "Please, go be happy. I'm trying my hardest to get back to that point, but, for now, I'm stuck in here. Go live life and try to get back the one that matters the most."

Max left the hospital in a blur of anxiety and peace.

The walk back to Blackwell was much longer than the walk to the hospital. It was midday, the sun bearing down on her clothed back with a warmth that made her feel calmer than she had felt earlier. Being cooped up in a room for an entire day would make anyone feel washed out, and for Max, it was nice just to feel the presence of the sun on her pallid skin.

She glanced at the butterflies that were fluttering around her, too caught up in their dances to realize how close they were to her. The only other time a butterfly had allowed her to get so close was that day in the bathroom -

"Hey, Max."

A voice from behind her causes her to stop in her tracks, her heart beating faster. It slammed against her ribcage, adrenaline surging through her veins. The urge to run hit once again - but the butterflies had multiplied as the seconds passed.

Rachel Amber catches up to her, finding a place beside of Max. Her tall, slender frame was filled with so much grace compared to Max's lanky one, which caused the freckled teen to feel a bit intimidated.

"Hi, Rachel." Max manages to force out, looking down towards the ground.

"Chloe's looking for you." The girl responds, getting right to the point. "She didn't send me, so don't tell her I came to talk to you."

"How did you know where I was at?"

"It would sound weird if I told you the truth, so lets just go with ' _I was there getting checked over by doctors and saw you leaving_ '. It sounds so much prettier that way. Sane." The girl lets out a sigh and starts walking, urging Max to walk along with her.

"I'd much rather know the truth."

Rachel shrugs, placing out a finger. One of the butterflies land, fluttering its wings softly before taking off again.

"The butterflies guided me."

She raised her arms into the air, and Max finally looked up, watching as all of the dozens of butterflies flew off at that very moment.

The moment passed in slow motion, everything coming together all at once. The butterflies, the time travel powers, everything. Max looks up at the taller girl, her eyes wide. Rachel stares off into the sky, watching the butterflies flutter off.

"Max, I need to thank you. Not for rescuing me, but...for making sure that Chloe was safe."

"...what happened?" Max whispered, not able to get her voice out any louder.

"One day, I was able to manipulate space. I could travel in time, manipulate the places I was all at once. I could do anything. I was invincible." She chuckles, her strides on the pavement getting quicker. "Until, I wasn't."

Rachel was running, and suddenly, Max found herself running in step beside of the girl.

"Why are we running?" Max pants, trying too hard to focus on not tripping over her own two feet.

"Well, you wanted to run, right?!" Rachel laughs, spreading her arms out to her side.

Max watches, mesmerized. Their surroundings grew blurry, things freezing in place, unable to move. However, Max and Rachel were only able to run faster, dodging people, cars, animals, and buildings.

"Come on, raise your arms, Max!" Rachel shouts, her voice echoing through the stillness of the world.

Max lifts her arms slowly, slowly, inching upwards at her side.

The world was painted in her mind, a water color painting on an acrylic canvas. It just simply didn't make sense, but it was beautiful, wonderful. It was completely unexplainable. The high that Max was experiencing was something that she wished that she could give to Chloe - something that might help the lost girl. She always seemed to be in so much pain, but to view the world the way Max could see it right now, was phenomenal.

"Max, at the count of three, I want you to jump!" Rachel shouts, looking down at her shorter companion. She smiled harder at the sight of the joy etched across Max's face.

"One!"

Max could feel the water colors melting together, creating something beautiful.

"Two!"

The colors melded into her eyesight, creating a photograph that could never be replicated. It was one that would stay in Max's mind for the rest of her life, until the day she passed.

"Three!"

They jumped.


End file.
